Financial Services Authority, Jakarta, March 10, 2015: Financial Services Authority (OJK) calls society to be cautious when using internet banking facility, considering recent crime using phishing modus operandi, a form of fraud indicated by attempts to acquire confidential information such as password by mean of undercover as a trustworthy person or business using official electronic communication instruments, i.e. email and short message service (SMS).

Member of OJK Board of Commissioners for Education and Consumer Protection Kusumaningtuti S. Soetiono expected society to comply with security information provided by each bank when using internet banking facility. Society should not make transactions using computers in public places. Computers that are used for transactions have to be upgraded with antivirus periodically, change our personal identification number (PIN) or password, and not easily give our personal data or our mothers` name, Kusumaningtuti said.

Several banks have managed to block perpetrators after immediate inter-bank cooperation by blocking both bank account of the sender and bank account of the receiver. OJK is asking each bank to immediately respond to identification found by other bank if internet banking crime is presumably detected. This is important, so that banks still can save their customers` fund and not fall into being a victim of such crime, said the woman, casually called as Tituk.

Apart from internet banking, OJK received a lot of questions from society about the many investment or social fund gathering platform offered by companies whose licenses are not issued by OJK. Incessant offers are sent using SMS blast, email and website for offers that have been actually classified as ponzi scheme.

OJK asks society to keep cautious, be careful and be rational in responding to such offers. It remains unsure so far for such offers to be named as illegal acts; however society needs to pay attention to potential disadvantages in the future that hide behind the offered promises of high yield. The characteristics of such offers are, among others:

• Give promises about unnatural yield and financial freedom;
• Global movement involving millions of participants from all over the world;
• Consecutive, member get member, but the object of investment is not actual;
• Have a system that is not transparent, and there is no party to assure the transparency;
• Give impression as if the offer is secure and free of risks;
• Do not have business license and are not under any regulating and supervising authority.

ALWAYS REMEMBER: Please be careful before doing any financial transaction and investment. Understand about the advantages, cost, and risks. Be aware of the rights and obligations. Make sure that there is an authority regulating and supervising both the products and institutions. Use OJK Consumer Service to get information about legal aspect of a company and offered products, at phone number 1500655 or email: konsumen@ojk.go.id

For more information:

Head of Consumer Protection Department, Financial Services Authority Anto Prabowo
Phone: 1500655
Email: anto.prabowo@ojk.go.id 
www.ojk.go.id